The Wire
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The Wire

Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice was the primary enforcer for the Barksdale Organization. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2002.

Biography[]

Background[]

Wee-Bey dropped out of school in sixth grade and started dealing drugs on a corner with Avon Barksdale and Russell Bell (both slightly older than him), eventually becoming the primary soldier in their criminal organization. Wee-Bey was also responsible for more mundane activities including driving and picking up money. In contrast to his long list of crimes, Wee-Bey is good-natured towards his friends, and has a passion for keeping pet fish. He has a son, Namond, by a woman named De'Londa, though he had no hesitation about sleeping with other women and maintains a separate residence. De'Londa uses his last name although they are not married.

Season 1[]

In 2002, Wee-Bey was the primary and trusted enforcer of the Barksdale Organization and second-in-command to Russell "Stringer" Bell. He was pulled over by Detectives Hauk and Carver, who seized $20,000 of Barksdale's money from the car.

Wee-Bey was involved in two different gun fights with legendary stick-up man Omar Little, after torturing and murdering Omar's partner Brandon.

Wee-Bey was shot in the leg by Omar. ("The Wire")

Wee-bey later defended Avon against Omar, shooting him in the shoulder and forcing his retreat ("Game Day")

Wee-Bey was also linked to the body of a dancer from Orlando's strip club, the Barksdales' legitimate business front. While he did not kill her, he took no action to prevent her death from overdose after raping her at a party. His callous disposal of her body sways another stripper, Shardene, to give information to the police, beginning the collapse of the Barksdale criminal empire.

Wee-Bey's eventual downfall came when he and Little Man kill Orlando because he was working as a police informant. During the incident, Little Man shoots Detective Greggs, who was undercover. Stringer ordered Wee-Bey to murder Nakeesha Lyles and Wintell Royce. ("Cleaning Up")

D'Angelo Barksdale was responsible for driving Wee-Bey to Philadelphia. After D'Angelo was arrested, he provided the location of Brice to the police information concerning Wee-Bey's murder of Deirdre Kresson. After his arrest, Wee-Bey confessed to the murders of Nakeesha Lyles, Wintell Royce, and others, including some he did not commit, such as William Gant.

Season 2[]

Wee-Bey was sentenced to life without parole in Maryland House of Correction. He continued to keep fish and enjoyed an easy life due to Barksdale's protection. A guard named Dwight Tilghman harassed him because he confessed to murdering a relative of Tilghman's, which Avon swiftly resolved. Later, after D'Angelo's murder, Wee-Bey assured Avon that D'Angelo's death was not his fault.

Season 3[]

Wee-Bey appeared to help Avon approach legendary prisoner Dennis "Cutty" Wise and offer him a position within their organization. Both Wise and Avon were paroled, leaving Wee-Bey to serve his time without them.

Season 4[]

Wee-Bey's son Namond Brice became involved with the drug trade, working with Preston Broadus. Namond was responsible for Wee-Bey's fish at home. Ultimately, he allowed his son to move in with Howard Colvin, hoping he could live a life that Wee-Bey never had the chance to. Wee-Bey ordered De'Londa to follow his lead, as his word will reach her wherever she goes.

Season 5[]

He appeared one final time in the jail yard of Maryland House of Correction conversing with Christopher Partlow. While the Barksdale and Stanfield organizations were bitter enemies on the street, Wee-Bey and Chris have perhaps found common ground since both served a similar top enforcer role in each organization, and both are serving life sentences for taking sole responsibility for multiple murders to protect their respective bosses.

Kill count[]

Personal[]

Production[]

Appearances[]

Season 1
"The Target" "The Detail" "The Buys" "Old Cases" "The Pager"
The Wire" "One Arrest" "Lessons" "Game Day" "The Cost"
"The Hunt" "Cleaning Up" "Sentencing"
Season 2
"Ebb Tide" "Collateral Damage" "Hot Shots" "Hard Cases" "Undertow"
"All Prologue" "Backwash" "Duck and Cover" "Stray Rounds" "Storm Warnings"
"Bad Dreams" "Port in a Storm"
Season 3
"Time after Time" "All Due Respect" "Dead Soldiers" "Amsterdam" "Straight and True"
"Homecoming" "Back Burners" "Moral Midgetry" "Slapstick" "Reformation"
"Middle Ground" "Mission Accomplished"
Season 4
"Boys of Summer" "Soft Eyes" "Home Rooms" "Refugees" "Alliances"
"Margin of Error" "Unto Others" "Corner Boys" "Know Your Place" "Misgivings"
"A New Day" "That's Got His Own" "Final Grades"
Season 5
"More with Less" "Unconfirmed Reports" "Not for Attribution" "Transitions" "React Quotes"
"The Dickensian Aspect" "Took" "Clarifications" "Late Editions" "-30-"

Notes[]

  • Ed Burns investigated multiple narcotics traffickers in the 1980s. One was a heroin dealer named Thomas H. Taylor, whose partner, Vernon Allen Collins, went by "Bey-Brother". Collins is mentioned in Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets as one of Baltimore's notorious contract killers in the late 1970s. He was arrested in 1987 and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. As of 2020 he is incarcerated at New Jersey State Prison, and occasionally lodges appeals against his various convictions.

References[]


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